What Really Matters
by LadyMurphey
Summary: Elise and Thomas have been friends since forever. They are even neighbours!But something about their friendship is about to change when they receive a letter from Hogwarts. Secrets will be revealed as their friendship is put to test. A sidestory to the Harry Potter books, with some other interferences of mine. Will me a many-part story as I intend to write about the whole saga.
1. Prologue

Lina had been married to Roger Boyd for two years before the child was born. A beautiful ginger girl, with a face already full of freckles, and bright green eyes that made people feel like she could see inside them. Of course she couldn't, really, for Elise was just one year old. Because of Elise, Lina had become best friends with her neighbour Rachel Allen, who had a boy called Thomas, only one day older than little Elise. So Rachel spent nearly all the day at Lina's house, talking and exchanging experiences. They had grown so close that they considered each other family.

At that evening, it was halloween and the two women were together in the kitchen cooking and baking sweets for children who would later knock on the door saying "trick or treats?". Lina felt an odd chill go up her spine when she saw the clouds outside. It was, indeed, a cloudy evening. So dark it looked like the sky was about to fall down, in fact.

"Oh, Lina, isn't it perfect for halloween? Funny, isn't it?" Said Rachel. Rachel tended to be a bit over optimistic. "I love halloween, you know? Feels so magical! It's perfect! So dark and mysterious, and all those children dressed like witches and vampires and ghosts!"

"What?" Lina was busy looking outside. Those clouds were definitely abnormal. Something was wrong. "Oh, yeah. It's a really beautiful day."

"I can barely wait for the day when our babies will first go out to ask for sweets. Can't you picture them doing that?"

"It's gonna be really fun, isn't it?" She laughed for a moment, imagining them with witch costumes, holding pumpkin-like baskets filled with sweets and smiling. However, she couldn't ignore the dark clouds on sky. Something was definitely wrong.

Lina headed to her bedroom, sensing something would happen on that evening. She spat an excuse for her sudden absence and locked herself in the bedroom. Under the bed, her fingers found a loose board on the floor and took it off the way. That's where she kept her wand, where no one could ever find it. Her trembling fingers held the object for a moment when she brought it closer to her eyes. She missed holding it. She missed magic. She missed _him._ It was a thirteen inch wand, made of oak with unicorn hair for the core. Lina slid the wand under her sleeve, holding it with an elastic to prevent it from falling.

Lina had hidden in the muggle world after the Dark Lord had made it clear that no resistance would be forgiven. After seeing some great friends being murdered, she decided to leave everything behind, to protect her loved ones. As part of the resistance, she knew things, but she wasn't sure she could keep herself from telling those things if she were to be tortured. She studied the muggles. She adapted to their way of living. She even married a muggle. She never used magic, or she could be tracked. The only thing she couldn't hide was her daughter. Young Elise would most certainly be a witch. And she was certain that, on that evening, she had been found. They would come for her and there was nothing she could do about it.

When she headed back to the kitchen, Rachel had just taken the cake out of the oven and placed it on the balcony.

In the livingroom, Elise and Thomas were crawling, chasing each other in a baby's way to play tag.

The two children had completely different personalities. Elise was a curious, interactive and noisy little girl, always looking everywhere, noticing every detail, touching everything all the time. Lina's biggest worry was that, someday, she would end up in hospital for a surgery in order to take a key off her daughter's throat. Or worse: that Elise could find her wand while crawling in the bedroom.

On the other hand, Thomas was a quiet, centered little boy. He could easily stare at something for hours. So silent he seemed not to be there at all. He even looked completely different from Elise. He had deep brown, sparkling eyes, dark skin and black curly hair. Maybe the only thing he and Elise had in common was the fact that each one of them looked exactly like their respective mother.

There was thunder outside, but no rain. Lina's hand squeezed the tip of her wand.

When they were done with the sweets, Lina ordered pizza for dinner and it arrived along with her husband, who seemed cheerful. He kissed his wife after climbing the stairs.

"I got promoted, honey!"

"That's amazing, honey!" She answered. The extra money would be welcomed, since Lina had gotten fired just after the end of her maternity leave. Rachel came into the room to congratulate him as well, as she overheard the conversation.

"Oh, Rachel! Let's all sit and have this amazing pizza to celebrate. I think there's some wine somewhere!"

Roger's cheerful personality was the one thing that first attracted Lina to him. He always seemed to be able to make the best of whatever situation. He even found a way to cheer her up when the doctors started losing hope on the baby's chance of survival after hours of labour. That had brought her strength back.

They had dinner together, toasting to Roger's promotion. The pizza wasn't really good, but Lina hadn't had time to cook anything besides sweets for the children who knocked on the door.

After that, they washed the dishes and sat down on the living room to chat. They discussed the weather, it seemed that a storm might be coming, but there was no wind, just dark clouds. Lina was certain something terrible was about to happen, something related to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That was no usual storm.

Occasionally, a knock on the door would make them get up to go give children some sweets. The cake had long been finished.

It was half past eleven when Rachel got up from her seat on the couch and got Thomas from where he was asleep on the floor, holding hands with Elise. Elise wasn't happy when she woke up to find that her best friend was gone, and cried.

"Oh, I feel bad for separating them! But Thomas will be back tomorrow, Elise, I promise!" Said Rachel. Although Elise didn't understand, she stopped crying anyway.

When Lina and Roger went to bed, she hid the wand in the nightstand drawer. It took a long time until she could finally fall asleep and, when she did, she dreamt of a green flash of light on the windows of an unknown house. She woke up in the morning, screaming.

The next morning, something was most definitely wrong.

Was she got up to prepare breakfast while Roger took a shower, she was surprised by an owl sitting on the fence that separated the apartment outside area from the building's common area. An owl, in the middle of the day? And that specific owl… where had she seen it before? It was definitely not a common owl. It was from a wizard or witch. Where could it be heading? She didn't know anyone from her world that lived nearby, that was the reason why she had chosen that area to live.

She tried not to think about it while preparing the toasts and coffee, but it was impossible to ignore another owl sitting right next to the first one when she fried the eggs.

Elise woke up crying and Lina went to get her. The little girl grabbed her shirt with the tiny hands and kept crying and crying. There was not much that could disturb Elise that much… must have been a dream. What did babies dream about? Something bad, apparently. For a moment, Lina wondered if it could have been the same dream with the flash of green light.

As Roger walked into the living room and sat at the table near the couch with the newspaper in his hands, Lina tried her best to stay calm.

"That's odd" He said. "A house exploded in a tiny town called Godric's Hollow, in England. I never heard of such place." Lina grabbed the newspaper out of her husband's hands, ignoring his complaints. Godric's Hollow. It wasn't supposed to be mentioned in muggle's newspapers… Could it be only on her's?

"That's odd indeed." She said, more to herself than to Roger. Then she looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, deary me. You are going to be late!"

He finished his coffee faster than the blink of an eye, Hugged Lina, kissed Elise's cheek and ran downstairs. Lina could hear the door slamming as he hurried outside.

Rachel knocked on the glass door that separated the apartment from the common area and Lina let her in with Thomas. Elise immediately laughed and clapped the tiny hands. She was put in the ground and crawled to the boy. They immediately started playing in their mysterious way. Elise tried to stand, using the coffee table for support. She had been trying to take her first steps for the last week, while Thomas experimented his first nearly understandable sounds. He was watching her as she moved her baby legs.

Lina went to her bedroom to look through the window and saw the most shocking scene. Witches and wizards walking by the street with colourful cloaks, greeting each other. Owls flying on every direction.

What the hell could possibly be happening? She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and thought about what she could write, who to ask. There was only one person.

 _Is everything alright? I read about Godric's Hollow._

 _What happened?_

– _L.B_

She rolled the paper and kept it with her, along with her wand, which she hid again inside her sleeve. An owl was still sitting on the fence outside. It seemed to be waiting for her. She shouted an excuse that would take Rachel out of the living room and went outside. She gave the paper to the owl and the animal held it into their beak.

"Take it to him. You know who I am talking about. Go."

The owl flew away.

Her heart sank in her chest. Could… could _he_ have died in Godric's Hollow last night?

Lina went back inside and tried to live her day as if nothing was happening, disconsidering the owls flying, the people walking and even the huge black dog that sat across the street and stared at her window. She wouldn't disconsider the dog if she had seen it, but she didn't.

When everything was done in the house, Rachel suggested that they would take the babies to the meadows to play outside for a bit. Lina was a tiny bit scared, but agreed anyway.

"Jesus christ, I have never seen so many owls… and during the day?"

"Oh, yes. This is really weird." Answered Lina, not realizing they were being followed by an enormous street dog.

Elise and Thomas were now being pushed in baby swings. But just for a bit, because soon it got too cold to be outside. The leaves had finished falling already.

"Would you like to have a cup of hot chocolate somewhere nearby?" Asked Rachel.

They ended up heading to somewhere called The Chocolate Tree. It was the tastier hot chocolate they had ever had. It was nightfall when they finally left and had a shock when they left the shop. Shooting stars on the sky above. Flashes of golden light cutting through the sky. _Oh my_ , thought Lina.

She made them hurry to get home and told Rachel she had a headache, so she and Thomas had to leave. Roger was already home by that time.

Lina didn't get any sleep on that night. As Roger rolled over on the bed, she got up and headed to Elise's room. She got the baby, carefully not to wake her up, and went to sit by the window, watching the street. It was silent. Completely silent. Dark. Unusual.

Then a mysterious figure appeared. Someone wearing a dark cloak walked to the door and knocked. They tried the door knob. Then one hand slowly raised a wand. Lina needed to see no more. She ran to her bedroom, woke Roger up and handed him Elise, along with the car keys and some money.

"Go. Get into Rachel's apartment, take her and Thomas. Get in the car and go. Go to Glasgow, I will meet you there." Roger didn't know anything, but the terrorized gaze in his wife's eyes told him to ask no questions. She watched as he left through the common area to meet Rachel. Heard footsteps on the stairs two seconds after that. Mentally, she recited all the spells she could use in a duel. There was nothing to block a death curse, however. So as the unknown wizard appeared on top of the stairs, she pointed her wand to him and shouted.

" _EXPELLIARMUS!"_

His wand flew from his hand and landed on her feet. Lina still had her wand in hand, threatening him. The wizard raised his hands to the hood and threw it back. She sighed in relief.

The man was Sirius Black.

"My goodness, Sirius!" She said, her heart still pounding and the wand still in hand. She remembered something. "How did we use to call you in school?"

"Padfoot!" He answered. Than asked. "What did I call you?"

"Linny" She said, blushing.

He rushed to hug her.

"Did you get my letter? Is that why you are here?"

"I had heard rumours that you could be in Edinburgh. After last night, I just jumped in a train. I had to find you. It was easier than I expected."

"What about last night?" She cut him.

"Oh, Lina..." His voice was a mix of pity and pain. "Lily and James are dead."

"What? Dead? Was that what happened in Godric's Hollow?"

"Yes. You-Know-Who found them. Wormtail gave them away." Lina felt as if the ground was gone. She walked into the living room to sit on the couch. Her red hair was trembling under the moonlight. She stared at the carpet. The tears came soon enough.

"Merlin's beard, Lina, everyone thought I was the one who knew! They are gonna think I betrayed them!" He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. He had the eyes of a mad man.

"Sirius, calm down! Come, sit down, I will make you a cup of tea!" She said.

"No. I have to go soon. They will look for me."

"I can hide you! We will figure out something we can do."

"I Have to go. I will only put you and your family in danger." His voice was cold, painful. "Anyway, there's some good news at last. The boy lived. And the Dark Lord is gone."

"Gone?" She whispered in shock. "Wait, what boy?"

"Their boy. Harry. My godson!" He shouted. "Oh, Lina, how can you not know? Haven't you even taken a look outside? What have you been doing since you left? Since you deserted the war? Shutting your eyes to our world… hiding like a coward. You left _me_ , Lina! ME! A witch like you. You… you were valuable to us! Maybe the Potters would still be alive if..." He didn't seem himself. Lina cried uncontrolably, unsure if the cause was the loss of her friends or Sirius' words. Still, she got a grip of herself and shouted back.

"I couldn't have done anything! I knew too much! Too many names! I couldn't risk giving it to him!" Sirius was shaking.

"I know…" He fell to his knees in front of her. "I'm sorry I said all of that. It's just that… James and Lily..." She hugged him, stroking his hair as both cried.

"You have to believe me, Lina. I didn't do it. I didn't tell him." He cried. She cupped his face between her hands.

"I believe you." She whispered.

Then he kissed her. Deeply. Both could feel how each other longed for that moment for the past five years. She could feel it. She belonged with him. With her world. She should go back with him. She didn't even love Roger. She liked him a lot of course, he was an amazing husband. But her heart belonged to Sirius and there was nothing she could possibly do about that. But then there was Elise. Her little baby. She couldn't go.

Lina broke the kiss.

"I am so sorry..." She said.

"Come with me, Lina. Let's go somewhere else. Let's hide somewhere… We can go to… We can go to Brazil, or Australia… you always said you wanted to go somewhere warmer, didn't you?"

"I can't… I can't leave Elise here."

"Then bring her along! We can be a family, like we always wanted!"

"How can I go back, Sirius? After leaving like that… After so many have died, how can I go back and face everyone?"

"Who gives a damn about everyone? You don't have to look at them, we can go somewhere where there's just the two of us!"

"Hiding? Running away from Aurors? How can I put Elise through that? Sirius… If it were just me, I would follow you without blinking. But it's not. I can't do this to her." There were tears in her eyes again.

"I… I understand." He said, with what seemed to be a knot in his throat. "I… I must leave, then."

"No. Please, stay some more!" Even after refusing his offer, Lina was still desperate to spend some time with him. "How could the boy survive? There's no way to survive a killing curse!"

"I know." Answered Sirius. "It's a mystery. He is the boy who lived. The one who defeated You-Know-Who."

"After all of that… A little boy..."

"He has a mark. A scar on his forehead, where the curse reached him. He… He looks so much like James. But has Lily's eyes."

Sirius touched her cheek with one finger, touching her freckles.

"I missed you so much..." He whispered. Lina held his hand and kissed it's palm.

"So did I. And I will still miss you, every single day."

"I love you, Lina." He said. And got his answer.

Than, with another deep kiss, he said goodbye. Walked to the middle of the living room and disapparated.


	2. Owls

**Owls**

Elise and Thomas had been best friends ever since they remembered. They couldn't be more different. Thomas was a tall, thin, dark skinned eleven year old boy who looked somewhat older than he actually was, probably due to his taste for science and talking skills. He was shy and would rarely ever be seen without a book under his arm. Just like when he was a baby, Thomas could easily spend half an hour staring at something with his sparkly brown eyes.

Elise, on the other hand was a ginger with huge bright green eyes, freckles all over her face and a petite physique that made her look younger than eleven years old. She loved arts and languages, sports and, especially, birds. She was very social and liked to be around friends, specially Thomas.

They had learned to crawl together, so they had built some world of their own. Within all their differences, they still had found a friend in each other. In fact, they were inseparable. Elise watched Thomas read and Thomas watched Elise play football for the school team. Thomas had been bullied for a while. His mother found out about this when Elise came home full of dirt and bruises, swearing she had done more damage to the boy who was calling Thomas names. Of course nobody messed with them after that. Elise had bad marks. Then Thomas intervened and helped her with homework and studying.

Although Elise was only one day younger, Thomas seemed much older than her. She was born on February 19, under the sign of Pisces, while Thomas answered to the Aquarius sign on the previous day. But since it was just a few hours difference, it was considered that they shared birthdays.

They had fought only once, and both got so depressed and isolated that their parents had talked and agreed to force both of them to apologise at the same time.

And that's why Elise only cried in front of Thomas when her father died. It was a tragic incident that had affected both families, especially because Elise had seen it all and yet she refused to go to therapy. She seemed okay after six months, but after their birthday celebration, Elise had pushed thomas into her bedroom and burst into tears.

"Elise, do you think magic exists?" Asked Thomas on the first night of summer break. They were laying down on an old blanket they had placed on the floor of the common patio area of the building they lived.

Elise lived on 7 Valleyfield street, a duplex, while Thomas lived on the first floor of the building right next to hers, 9 Valleyfield street. Technically it was the same building, but there were two different entrances and her flat had no other connections to the main building except for the common patio area.

"Like fairies?"

"No… more like mermaids and dragons and witches… hidden somewhere around the world..."

"I don't know… maybe. I mean… people have believed in magic for really long, right?"

"Yeah… wouldn't it make sense?"

"I think so." Elise wasn't really paying attention. She was too busy stargazing, trying to push her brain to remember all the shiny spots on the sky, hoping she would see a new one after her father was gone. Everyone kept telling her he was still with her… but it made no difference to her. He couldn't hold her hand to cross the street, he couldn't kiss her goodnight, he couldn't even be mad at her.

Magic… magic wouldn't do her no good, unless it could bring her father back from the dead. Whether it existed or not, made no difference. Not that funny things didn't happen to her. When she got mad or scared, something would always help. Once, while playing football, her feet missed the ball, but it still moved and she scored a goal. And once Thomas was at school walking down the stairs with a pile of books when a boy pushed him. He fell and he should have died, if it wasn't for the fact that, somehow, the books piled up right where he would fall, preventing the accident.

An owl hooted somewhere in the darkness. Elise was brought back from her thoughts and got up to look around. She had never seen an owl as close as that one sounded like. The sound of flapping wings made her look around to find two huge birds landing on the fence between her apartment's door and the common area.

"Oh, look, Thomas, owls!"

"Be careful, Elise, they can be very dangerous." Thomas took notice of the birds and pulled his friend back so she wouldn't do anything stupid, but she broke free of his arms easily.

"What are they carrying?" She ignored his warning and got closer, noticing they had envelops in their beaks. "Oh, Thomas, they are mail owls!" Elise squealed. Then the animals let the envelops fall on the floor and flee away. The ginger girl immediately got the letters and opened them.

"Elise, you shouldn't be opening other people's correspondence..."

"This is not _other people's correspondence,_ Thomas, look! It's addressed to us!"

"How can it possibly be addressed to us?" Thomas rolled his eyes, predicting a prank.

"I swear, Thomas, look, this one is for you and this one is for me. They were here to bring it to us, Thomas!"

"Elise, how can owls bring letters to us outside our houses? How can owls bring letters to begin with? Owls couldn't recognize..." But he stopped talking when he read what was written on the parchment.

 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

 _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Mr. Allen,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at_ _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ _. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than_ _31 July_ _._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

On second page, there was a list of odd materials required for the school.

 _UNIFORM_

 _First-year students will require:_

 _1\. Three sets of plain work_ _robes_ _(black)_

 _2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _3\. One pair of protective gloves (_ _dragon_ _hide or similar)_

 _4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

 _COURSE BOOKS_

 _All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

 _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

 _by Miranda Goshawk_

 _A History of Magic_

 _by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _Magical Theory_

 _by Adalbert Waffling_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

 _by Emeric Switch_

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

 _by Phyllida Spore_

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_

 _by Arsenius Jigger_

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

 _by Newt Scamander_

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

 _by Quentin Trimble_

 _OTHER EQUIPMENT_

 _1 wand_

 _1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _1 set glass or crystal phials_

 _1 telescope_

 _1 set brass scales_

 _Students may also bring, if they desire, an_ _owl_ _OR a_ _cat_ _OR a_ _toad_ _._

 _PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS_

 _ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_

 _Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions_

"Okay, someone lost a lot of time on this prank."

"Thomas, no one would lose time training owls just to play a prank."

"Elise, do you really think there is such thing as a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"Weren't you the one talking about magic existing just now?"

"Yes but… not like this! Not something we could be part of!"

"How can you tell? What about all the weird stuff that happens to us? Wouldn't it make sense? I think we should write back, Thomas. I want to know."

They were interrupted by Elise's mother calling her to dinner, but the ginger woman froze once she saw what the two kids had in hands.

"Oh, Jesus Christ..." She said. "I wasn't expecting those to arrive that soon."

She told them to go inside and prepared them hot chocolate instead of dinner, before sitting on her chair for a long, long explanation about how she herself was a witch but had fled and hidden among what she called _muggles_ at the time someone she called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ascended to power. When they asked who was that, it was like a horror story.


	3. He Who Must Not Be Named

**He Who Must Not Be Named**

"It started twenty two years ago. And it lasted for eleven years." She started. "This wizard, whose name I dare not speak, started gathering other men, women and beasts, to try and control the world of magic. Some tried to stand up against him… And he killed them. He tortured and killed them. When I was younger, I used to be part of something we called the Order of the Phoenix and we fought his army. We were the last resistance against the Dark Lord." She went on, tears filling her eyes.

"People would go missing every day. There were really dark times. No one dared to get friendly with unknown people… We hardly trusted anyone we already knew. And no matter how we resisted, there was no light by the end of the tunnel. One day, a great friend of mine was caught and tortured. She died without saying a single word, but I wasn't so sure I wouldn't say anything either. So I fled that night. I never went far, never left the United Kingdom, but I made sure to disappear. I hid my wand, I didn't use magic, I got married to your father, I had you."

"How did it end, mommy?"

"Yes, I recall how it ended." She sounded very distant, as if the pain was still to terrible to look closely at the memory. "It was the middle of night when someone wearing a black cloak knocked our door. You were just a year old… I knew it was him. I just knew it, so I got your father up and told him to..." Elise could see her mother was making a real effort not to cry. "I told him to take you and run away. Disappear. I took my wand with me. I knew I would have to protect you… hold him off to give you a chance. But it wasn't him… It was a friend. He told me 'It's over. The Potter are dead. And so is the Dark Lord.' The Potter were part of the Order. They were friends. They resisted to death." Somehow, Elise felt her mother wasn't telling the whole truth, but decided no to push.

"Did the Potter kill this Dark Lord?" Thomas asked, trying not to be too invasive.

"Oh no. It was their baby."

"How can a baby kill a wizard?"

"When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named arrived, James tried to stop him so Lily could get the baby and leave. But there wasn't enough time… So when the Dark Lord got in the baby's bedroom, Lily blocked his spell. Somehow when he had her out of the way and pointed his wand to try to kill Harry again, the spell didn't work. More than that, the whole house exploded and the Dark Lord disappeared that night in Godric's Hollow. His empire was gone. And Harry Potter is the only wizard to ever survive to the killing curse."

"So… You are a witch. And so I am a witch. And what about Thomas? And… If this evil wizard is dead, why didn't you go back?"

"I was ashamed. I had forsaken my friends… I left everything behind. There was nothing left to me… Until I realized you were a witch too. And Thomas is a muggleborn. Then I knew someday I would have to face the past… But I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"A what-born?" Thomas asked, nearly offended.

"A muggleborn. It's how we call it when a wizard is born in a non magical family."

"That's amazing..." Said Thomas. "And where is this Hogwarts place?"

"Hogwarts is a school where you will learn to control and use magic on different fields. There's every sort of thing… from potions to flying on a broomstick."

"Broomsticks?!" Elise squealed. "I'd love to fly!"

"Oh, flying is amazing. There is a game, called quidditch… James used to play it. He was very good, one of the best. He was from Gryffindor."

"Gryffindor?"

"Hogwarts divides the students in four houses. There is Gryffindor, house of the brave. Slytherin is the house of the ambitious… they can be very prejudicious towards muggleborns. Ravenclaw is home to the most intelligent minds. And there is Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff doesn't get much recognition, but that doesn't mean they aren't amazing. It's a house for the kind, the friendly, those who protect." The woman didn't say it, but it got pretty clear that she herself was a Hufflepuff.

"So we are leaving our school and going to Hogwarts?"

"Yes. That's it. We have to send an owl… we have to go to London."

"London? Where are we going to find all this stuff?"

"There is a place in London called the Diagon Alley. And if I'm not mistaken, I still have some wizarding currency in Gringotts. The wizarding bank." She explained. "I suppose… I will have to convert my muggle money into Galleons. And so is your mother, Thomas. Don't worry, though, things are cheap on the wizarding world."

The two kids were so confused they didn't even bother to ask what a Galleon was.

"I will talk to your mother and make her understand what's going on. I'll… I will tell her it is true."

She told the two kids to follow her into her room and showed them a twelve inch long notched stick. It was her wand.

"Each wand is unique. And it chooses it's owner."

The kids looked at each other with a doubtful gaze. How could a wand, an unanimated object, choose anything? But well… how could there be a parallel magical society in their world and no one know it?

It was all so weird… And still, there they were, planning on a traveling to a school for wizards because they were… wizards.

"Now, let's have dinner and then off to bed. It will be a long day tomorrow and I want you two to rest."

They did as she told. Eating in silence, the only noise as they dined was the spoons reaching the bottom of their bowls. They could barely taste the soup, since their brains were working so hard. In fact, one could nearly hear how loud they were thinking. Thomas left just after washing the dishes, without even giving Elise their usual hug. Elise didn't seem to mind and went straight to bed. She didn't get any sleep, of course, since she was too anxious for the next day.

So the next morning, when she realized the daylight was already coming through her window, Elise got up, took a shower and got dressed in less than ten minutes and when she got to the kitchen her mother was already there, preparing eggs and bacon.

"Would you put some bread in the toaster for me, dear?" She asked.

"Yes, mom." Elise did as she was told.

"I invited Rachel and Thomas to have breakfast with us, so I can explain everything to her. I want to make it clear that she will probably not take it too well… Muggles are usually very shocked at first. She might even call us crazy or something like that. But she will get used to it, Rachel is a very optimistic woman."

"Mom, could you show me some magic?"

"What?"

"I would like to see it. Very very much."

Lina thought for a few seconds. She supposed it was alright, since Elise was a witch too and nobody could possibly see it.

"Alright, alright. I will show you a very simple spell, okay? So no one will get suspicious. Can you bring me a match?"

"Yes, mom." And she got a match from the drawer.

Lina pointed her wand to the match and said a few words. Then the match turned into a needle! A needle!

Lina widened her eyes.

Right then, Rachel knocked on the glass door and Lina hurried to open it.

As they had their breakfast, Thomas and Elise were unusually quiet, staring at each other as they used to do before being able to talk. That was all very, very unusual and Rachel couldn't help but ask what was going on.

"Rachel, the kids received letters last night. They have a new school to go."

"What? No, Thomas already has his vacancy at the new school… I already have his uniform!"

"It's no usual school, Rachel. It's a school fit for children like them."

" _Like them?_ What the hell does it mean, Lina?"

"Well… How can a put that? Elise, could you go to your room and bring the letter for us?"

Again, Elise did as she was told. In no time she was back with the parchment in hands. She handed it to Rachel.

"There you go, Mrs. Allen."

"Thank you, dear." Rachel opened the parchment and read for a moment. Then she started shouting like crazy. They could barely understand what she was saying, but managed to get some words out of it. Among them, there were the words _prank, stupid_ and _idiots._ Lina patiently waited for Rachel to calm down and let her speak.

"You see, Rachel, I am, myself, a witch. What makes Elise a half-blood. As for Thomas, he is what we call a muggleborn, which means you have no magical blood, but he does. It's not that uncommon."

"Lina, you have been a friend for all these years… What is it? You can tell me. Is it about Roger?" Lina smiled and shook her head.

"No, Rachel, it is true. Look." She got her wand and waved it. After reciting a few words, one of the cups on the table started to fly.

Rachel fainted.

She didn't wake up for a few seconds, but when she did, all the shouting started again. A few cups of tea were required until she got her temper back.

"So, what you are saying is that… They are going to a boarding school of witchcraft?"

Lina nodded. Elise held hands with Thomas.

"Are you positive that Thomas is a wizard?" Asked Rachel again.

"I am. He wouldn't receive a letter if he wasn't."

"Well… alright then. May I ask where you intend to find all those things in the letter?"

"There is a hidden place in London. I was thinking of taking them there today. Oh my! We have to answer to the letters!" She recalled. "Yes, we must go today. I'll bring Thomas back by the evening."

Rachel nodded, trying to find her voice to answer properly.

"I will… I will sleep some more." She said as Lina and the children left to the street.


	4. The Leaky Caldron

**The Leaky Caldron**

It was warm outside. The weather was very pleasant and Lina promised to buy them ice cream.

The Edinburgh's train station wasn't full on that mourning, so it wasn't hard to get in a train almost immediately after they arrived. They sat on four seats that surrounded a plastic table.

"I brought cards if you want to play." Said Thomas nervously.

"Oh, you two can play. I got a lot to think. I'm a bit nervous about going back there, since it's been a while."

"It will be okay, mom." Elise looked at her with those deep green eyes that seemed to see everything.

She and Thomas were sitting at one side of the table. For a moment, looking at the two of them, Lina thought of Sirius. She had no idea where was Sirius. He never wrote to her, or anything. Nobody ever contacted her about him, at least. Well, maybe that meant he was not dead, at least.

"I was wondering if my friend is alright."

"The one who went to our house that night you told us about?"

"Yes." Lina looked… sad?

"Okay." Said Elise, looking through the window. They spent all the trip without exchanging a word. Each one of them was thinking about what was going to happen when they got there.

Elise was anxious, wondering what everything was going to look like. Would objects fly? It was only natural for her to be a witch, despite the surprise with the letters. It was easy for her to understand that she belonged to that world. As for Thomas, he was frightened that maybe it was all a mistake. And whenever Thomas was nervous, he would open a book and read as if his life depended on it. Lina just kept her eyes on the window and the kids were unsure if she was looking outside or at the glass.

When they finally left the train at King's Cross, they were all hungry, so Lina said they would have something to eat at a place called The Leaky Caldron. Apparently, it was a famous place to the wizarding world.

"I brought some wizarding currency I had hidden with my wand. I guess we can all eat." She discreetly showed some large gold coins to the children.

They walked and walked, and then walked some more, but neither of them saw any establishment where magic wands could possibly be sold. Until they were guided into an old shop, which oddly seemed to pass unseen by all people around except for them. There was no better name for the place for it than The Leaky Caldron, thought Elise.

It was dark inside. And yet it was somehow cosy.

"I can't believe my own eyes. Lina?" A voice came from over the balcony. "Lina Weasley?" The barman was a quite bald man.

"Hello, Tom. Well, my last name is Boyd now." She smiled. Weasley? That was her name, then?

"You married then! And that girl… Is that girl your daughter?"

"Yes, this is Elise. And that's her friend Thomas. He also received a letter last night."

"Do I know your parents, young lad?"

"Oh, I don't think so. My mother isn't a witch. And I never knew my father."

"Have you had any word from Arthur?" Asked Lina.

"Oh, yes. He and young Percy came here just yesterday to buy him a new uniform. He is a prefect now!"

"Prefect? Oh, how amazing! Molly was still pregnant with him when..."

"Oh yeah. You missed the last… how many were there again? Five."

"Five?" Lina sounded shocked. Her eyes were widened, while Elise and Thomas tried to understand who were Percy and the other five children.

"There are no better people. All very educated."

"Oh, I will write to them! There's so much to catch up!"

"I have an owl I can spare for a day or two if you need."

"That would be lovely, Tom. Meanwhile, me and the children would like to get something to eat."

"Oh, alright. sit down, food and parchment will be on the table in a moment."

As they headed to their seats, Elise's eyes crossed with a thin, pale man with a hooked nose. He wore dark clothes, had dark eyes and dark, oily, long hair. For some unknown reason, Elise immediately felt something extremely cold fall into her heart. Something about that man made her deeply sad. And for some reason she couldn't stop looking at him. Even when he stared back.

"Stop staring, Elise!" Lina scolded her.

"Sorry, mom." She finally looked away, just as the food arrived, floating. Also, an owl brought a piece of parchment and a quill along with it.

"An owl!" Shouted Elise as she reached for the animal's feathers. The bird didn't look happy, but wasn't annoyed by the contact either. Suddenly the girl remembered she could bring an owl with her to Hogwarts and considered asking her mother for one.

The food was very tasty, but not enough to take Lina's conversation with the innkeeper out of Elise's head.

"Mom, who is Arthur?"

"Arthur is my elder brother." So Elise had a family other than her mother? She wasn't sure whether she was mad or just curious. She decided to go for curious, in order not to start a fight.

"So I have cousins?"

"Seven cousins, to be exact."

"Wow..." Thomas reacted.

They exchanged looks and Elise could see he was just as surprised as she was.

Once they finished, Lina started writing her letter and let the two kids wander through the pub. They walked around and saw a few mysterious people. There was a woman smoking a pipe and a man wearing a turban. He talked to the children, but seemed so embarrassed they decided to leave him alone. Elise looked around and noticed that the other man, the one in black, was still staring at her. She gathered all her courage and decided to confront him.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Why am _I_ staring at you?" He asked, coldly. "You were the one who started."

Elise blushed. A lot. For some reason, she felt a little bad around that man. Not that he gave her a reason, he wasn't being rude, just cold.

"I… I'm sorry." She said. Still, she couldn't stop looking at him. She felt just like a baby looking obsessively at someone.

"Oh, my. Seems like we finally got you back, Lina." The man said, even collier, looking beyond Elise. Still, he didn't seem angry.

"Severus… It's been a while."

"Yes."

"How… How is everything?"

"I suppose you know exactly how things are." Answered the man called Severus. He seemed to be the coldest person Elise had ever met.

"I… I see. Look, I need to go to Gringotts. Could you look after the kids for me? I'll be as quick as possible." Elise looked at Thomas and she could tell he was frightened. The man called Severus nodded and Lina left them, promising to bring some ice cream when she came back.

"How did you get to know my mother?"

"Well, aren't you an annoying one?" He answering. Thomas already had sat at the table and opened a book about basic chemistry.

"I'm not annoying, I'm curious!" She knew she should stop asking. She knew she was making him angry. But something inside her was fascinated by that man. For some reason, she felt he was someone to look up to.

"Well..." He granted "let's just say that, when she was your age, your mother was just like you." She didn't make any mistake, his voice was still cool as ice, but he didn't sound like a dead person anymore.

"You were friends with her?"

"Wouldn't say that." He pulled a book out of his cloak. No matter how hard Elise tried, she couldn't see where the hell it had been hidden. "But we did go to Hogwarts together."

"What was she like? She never mentioned anything about Hogwarts until last night..."

"Then you shouldn't ask questions to a stranger." He answered. Elise could spot sarcasm in his voice, yes, but not a bitter type of sarcasm. Neither it was playful.

"But you are not a stranger if my mom knows you."

She stretched her neck to get a peek in his book and saw many notes and texts and pictures of plants she had never seen.

"You teach potions at Hogwarts!" She shouted, accidentally dragging attention from people in the pub. "I'm sorry!"

"Yes, I suppose I will be your teacher this year." He answered, now clearly annoyed. He was probably regretting his decision of taking care of the children.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drag any attention."

"How very perceptive. I wonder whether you will be sorted in Hufflepuff or Slytherin." For some reason, the man closed the book. Had he taken interest on curiosity? Or was it just him giving up on any chance he had on focusing on his reading?

"I don't think I'll be in Slytherin. My mom said they don't really like muggleborns… And I really like Thomas."

"That's not true. But still, you are a pure-blood, the test might sort you in Slytherin."

"I'm not a pure-blood. My father was a muggle." Elise was shocked that she was already using those words as if she was raised in that environment. Then she noticed that Snape had a very odd expression on his face.

"Are you sure? Your father isn't Sirius Black?"

"No. That's for sure." She answered and resisted the impulse of asking who the hell was Sirius Black and why did Severus sounded so angry when he said his name.

"That is surprising." He concluded after a while.

"Elise, Thomas?" Lina's voice sounded from behind them. She had just passed through the door to the backyard. "I would like to have a word with Severus. Could you go ahead and follow the list in your letters? The stores will be easy to find. I couldn't bring ice cream since it took longer than I expected, but I'll give you some extra money so you can buy some yourselves."

Elise suddenly felt a chill in her stomach, frightened about being left alone in an unknown world. But still, she did as she was told and grabbed Thomas' hand so they would walk together through the the passage her mother had opened on the brick wall outside by tapping bricks on the right spots.

It was wonderful.


	5. The Diagonal Alley

**The Diagon Alley**

The Diagon Alley was, perhaps, the most amazing place Elise had ever seen. It was amazingly colorful, and everywhere there were shop announcements of every single magic object imaginable. People walked around in colorful cloaks, with their large families. Some looked richer. Oddly, all of those witches and wizards seemed to have stopped on time in a different century. Elise and Thomas turned their heads left and right so fast and obsessively it was amazing they didn't get dizzy.

When their euphoria finally gave them a break, Elise managed to ask Thomas where he wanted to go first.

"Let's just walk through the alley and keep one eye on our lists. After we are done, we buy some icecream." He said. Elise could tell Thomas was just as excited as she was, but kept most of it to himself.

They walked, completely unable to keep their eyes off the shops and what was being sold on the shops. Even the people doing their shopping was interesting. Everything, _everything_ was unusual. There were caldrons, books, quills, potion ingredients…

"Brooms!" She squealed, pulling Thomas towards a shop called Quality Quiddich Supplies. There was a beautiful broom in exposition, which carried the words _Nimbus 2000_ written in gold letters on one side. Neither of them had ever seen a broom, but judging by the appearance and by other children's reactions to it, that was the finest model available. Thomas had to drag Elise from the shop in order to move on, or she would never have left.

"Come on, Elise, firth years are not allowed to have their own brooms anyway. Let's go to the book shop."

"Alright, alright..." She said, still not wanting to go.

"Oh, good lord... " Thomas muttered to himself when they stepped into the shop called Flourish and Blotts. There were all sorts of books that a mind could possibly imagine.

There were books about hexes and curses, books about runes, books for children, books filled with pictures, with peculiar symbols. Some were just as large as paving stones and others small enough to easily fit in a pocket. There were even books about muggles. And, as both were amazed, the pictures in the books moved. _Moved!_

They went through the whole book list and then looked for some more. Thomas found an encyclopedia, while Elise got her hands on a book called Quidditch Through The Ages. Well, wasn't that amazing? They paid for the books and walked out of the shop, nearly missing it.

It was easy to find somewhere to buy the robes, as there was a shop called "Madam Malkin's robes for all occasions". Madam Malkin was a very kind woman and quickly adjusted the robes to their bodies. There were two large boys also getting their robes pinned by an unknown woman. One of them was especially large and looked especially dumb.

"Hello." The less-stupid looking boy said.

"Hi." Thomas and Elise answered timidly at the same time.

"I'm Vincend Crabbe and this is Gregory Goyle."

"I'm Elise Boyd." She said, leaving Thomas to introduce himself. The two boys put on a disgusted expression.

"Oh. Muggleborns." Mocked The one called Goyle. "Shouldn't be sent to Hogwarts, that's what my father says."

Elise knew that she herself wasn't a muggleborn, therefore the offense was not meant to her. But Thomas was. And she could nearly feel how embarrassed he was. For some reason, maybe because he was really thin and shy, Thomas never stood up for himself. Even when he got bullied at their old school because of his skin colour, Elise was the one to hit the boys who mocked him.

That was the reason why she moved towards the boys, with her hands in fists, with a flaming gaze in her green eyes. However, Thomas held her back. When she looked up, she could see that her friend was not upset or angry, as he looked at her with a reassuring smile. Of course he wasn't comfortable with the situation, but obviously had decided that fighting Hogwarts students even before going to Hogwarts wouldn't be a very good idea.

"There you go, dear." Said madam Malkin. They paid her and left the shop with their robes. They looked around for a moment, trying to find Lina's red hair. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Thomas, who do you think is Sirius Black?"

"What?"

"Did you not hear what that man told to me? Severus. He was very surprised that my father wasn't this man named Sirius Black."

"Well… I wasn't listening. That man frightened me. Weren't you frightened?"

"No, of course not! Couldn't you see it? Severus was terribly devastated at something. Nobody can be as cold as that naturally."

"What do you mean?" Thomas was a very good reader, but his skills applied to books only. He was so introspective that, sometimes, he couldn't actually see behind other people's faces and voices. The only person he knew enough to understand was, in fact, Elise. Not that he wasn't caring towards anyone he loved, it's just that he didn't allowed himself. Thomas wanted to know _things_ , not feelings.

"I think he lost someone."

"Aren't you just saying that because of your father?" If Thomas were anyone else, she would have punched him right there and then. But she liked how direct he could be sometimes. "I don't mean to be rude." He completed.

"You weren't. I like that you go straight to the point." That was Elise's answer, while Thomas pulled her into the caldron shop. "Of course it is because of my father, though. How could I understand that he lost someone, if I hadn't lost my father?"

Thomas stared at her for a moment, worried. Until the night before, Elise had been crying about her father, unable to talk about him. And then she suddenly started talking about how that was part of her life experience and how much she had learned from it? He, himself, still couldn't talk about his father and he had never met him. They continued talking about it while they bought their caldrons.

"Anyway… Do you think this Sirius could be my father?"

"Well, you have to consider the fact that I am just one day older than you and there's no way I could know."

"I don't even look like my dad, I'm exactly like my mom. There was no way anyone but her could know..."

Thomas thought for a moment, looking at the ceiling to seek inspiration for his conclusions.

"Why don't you ask her, then?"

"Would you ask your mom if she ever cheated on your father?" Elise looked at him, wondering how he had managed to say such nonsense. "Anyway, where do you think this man is?"

"Probably mad at your mother because she married someone else."

They became once they left the caldron shop to look for potion ingredients. There was a shop called Apothecary, and there was a funny smell coming from there. It was slightly dark inside and the kids spend some time examining a unicorn's horn. How beautiful it was… There were also things such as dragon scales, strange plants, thestral hair… What was a thestral, anyway? It took a while for them to notice that the man in the pub, Severus, was also in the shop, since he was probably the most silent man to ever walk on earth. It meant that Lina was also somewhere in the alley. But Severus still hadn't noticed them and had the most disturbed expression on his face, so Elise whispered to Thomas that they shouldn't talk to them and waited for him to leave before paying for their ingredients. They found Lina outside, carrying a cage with an owl inside, and a cat.

"An owl!" Shouted Elise, instantly forgetting about her previous conversation with Thomas and running to see the animal.

"So you can send letters throughout the year, and the cat can keep you company." Explained Lina. She handed the owl cage to Elise and the cat to Thomas, who had always wanted a cat.

"Thank you, Mrs. Boyd." He said timidly while Elise shouted "Thank you so much, mom!"

The barn owl inside the cage friendly hooted at the girl.

"Well, I see you got the books, the caldron and the ingredients. I suppose the only item left is the wand."

She guided the children towards a narrow, shabby shop with peeling gold letters on the sign that wrote _Ollivanders. Makers of fine wands since 382 B.C_

They barely fit inside the shop, so Lina waited outside with their stuff. A bell rang when the two kids went inside. They looked around, waiting for something to happen, when suddenly a very old man appeared at the balcony.

"Another Weasley?" He said, seeming annoyed. "I just sold your brother a wand yesterday."

"That was probably my cousin. I don't know him, though." Said Elise.

"Oh, then I'm surprised indeed. I never expected that your mother would ever come back to our world, even if she had a magical child. I still remember the wand I sold her. Oak, thirteen inches, unicorn hair for the core. A specially beautiful female, if you ask me. Fairly flexible, if I recall it. Let's see what destiny has kept for you, young lady."

Ollivander left for a moment and came back with a wand.

"If you do follow your mother's steps, this one will do for you. It's unicorn hair inside orange tree. Go on, try it." He handed her the wand. Elise held it for a second and Ollivander almost immediately took it off her hand. "No, not this one." He said, although Elise was unsure how he could possibly know it. "We will know when you get the one. You will feel it attaching to you."

Elise tried a couple more wands before she got the right one. When she took hold of a bendy ten inch wand made of silver lime with unicorn hair for the core, she felt somewhat warm. As if someone had lit a fire just next to her. No. Inside her. She could feel the wand's fidelity towards her as gold and red sparkles came out of it's end.

"Well… that is it then. It chose you. The unicorn that produced the hair to this wand was an especially kind one… very friendly towards me and anyone who went near it. I expect… we can expect the same from you." He said. Then turned to Thomas. "As for you, young man, I see that I have an beechwood wand with dragon heartstring for the core that might fit for you." He went to get it and was back in a moment. The man had been precise. That was the wand for Thomas. It's sparkles went higher than the ones produced by Elise's wand.

They paid for the wands and left the shop to get their promised ice cream.

In their way back home, Elise wouldn't stop asking her mother about Severus. She only got a few answers despite her efforts. Severus Snape had once been her mother's classmate and she had deep respect for him, although they had never really been friends. He had hated the man called Sirius, and hated even more James Potter. Lina stopped answering once Elise started asking the "whys". She didn't get any straight answer about Sirius Black either.

The four hours in a train didn't make anything better. Besides being bored and insisting on asking questions, Elise still had to hide the wand and ignore the weird glances at the owl in the cage. They spent the whole trip trying to decide what would be the proper name for a female barn owl. At the end, Elise decided to go for Helga, in honour to Helga Hufflepuff, the founder of house Hufflepuff, her mother's house. She wondered on which house she would go. And where Thomas would find his place.


	6. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**Platform 9 ¾**

The next months after the Diagon Alley episode were terribly boring. Lina seemed simply too nervous to talk about anything, perhaps deeply disturbed. More than once she borrowed Helga to send letters to old friends. Elise stayed at Thomas's until the end of summer break. They had sent Helga to Hogwarts confirming that they would be there for the year by the beginning of the term.

Rachel herself seemed to be avoiding the kids and they spent most of their time in the park near their house, or in Thomas's bedroom, reading the books. Elise took extra care to the books about potions while Thomas was much more interested on History of Magic and Transfiguration. Once, in the park, Thomas asked Elise if she felt safe by going to an unknown school at an unknown part of the country and Elise, for the first time, gave it a thought. No. She didn't feel safe. But she felt as if she could no longer live without this in her life. She needed to be a witch. It was in her blood. She could not talk to her old schoolmates without feeling awkward, or out of place.

Lina decided it was time to go to London on the day before their departure. It was really hard for Rachel to say goodbye to Thomas, since she had never, in her life, been alone without her son for more than a day. Despite being always positive, Rachel cried a lot when Lina walked with Thomas and Elise through the door. This time, in the train, they talked all trip long, nonstop. Lina told them about all the secret passages she remembered, warned them about Filch the caretaker and her cat , about Peeves the poltergeist, and about following the rules. She even dared to tell them a little bit about her old friends in Hogwarts, but not once mentioned Sirius Black. Elise seriously suspected that her mother had been so terribly disturbed for the last month because of that man, because of something Severus Snape had told her.

Once more, Lina guided the children to the Leaky Caldron

When they arrived at King's Cross station, Lina handed two tickets to the children, which informed that they should be departing at 11:00 AM from platform 9 ¾.

"Wait, 9 ¾? That platform doesn't really exist… does it?" Asked Thomas. Lina answered by telling them to stay quiet, that she would show them how to get in the right platform.

They walked to the pillar that divided the space between platforms 9 and 10 and Lina made them wait until there were no muggles around. Then she bowed down to look at the kids in the eye and told them to run towards the pillar. She said it was really important not to be afraid and do it without being seen by the muggles.

"What?!" Thomas sounded pasmed. Elise looked at him, understanding that his insecurity came from the boy's deep trust issues. Perhaps it was due to the fact that his father left their family when he was really, really young.

"Alright. Elise, can you go first? You just have to run for it, will be really quick. Wait for us at the other side, alright?" Lina knew exactly how brave Elise was, and knew that her daughter wasn't scared.

Elise ran towards the pillar, keeping her mind elsewhere, determined to show her friend that he was safe and had nothing to fear, even when she doubted she would ever make it through the hard pillar. Then she reached it. And instead of having all her stuff breaking in the impact, she slipped through the pillar and appeared at the other side, at platform 9 ¾. She could tell where even before looking at the sign, because the crimson train in the platform was very old, and the people walking around, saying farewell to their children, were most definitely not muggles.

Her mother and Thomas made it through the pillar just moments after that and Lina immediately started looking around, as if looking for someone. Then she saw who she was looking for. A redheaded woman was yelling at two identical boys, while saying goodbye to an older boy, trying to clean a younger boy's nose, who complaint, and comforting a girl that couldn't be much younger than Elise herself. Thomas and Elise exchanged looks, finding the same insecurity in each other's eyes. Both had already put the pieces together, understanding that that woman was her mother's sister in law. "Molly!" Lina called, walking fast towards her. Elise and Thomas followed her.

"Merlin's beard, it can't be!" The one called Molly spread her arms to hug Lina.

"Where have you been, woman? Arthur and I were most certain that you were… Well, you never showed up again! He will be so happy that you are here with us once more!"

"Hiding… until the letter from Hogwarts arrived."

"With the muggles?" Molly seemed shocked. "With no magic at all? How did you manage, dear?"

"It's easy once you get that their technology is about the same as our magic."

The woman Lina had called Molly looked straight at Elise and widened her eyes.

"I see little we finally have another girl in the family beside Ginny!"

The little girl on the cart moved her head quickly until she found Elise's curly red hair. She ran towards the older girl and hugged her with no previous warning. Elise wasn't expecting for that and blushed, feeling fulfilled. The simple presence of those people made her feel like part of something.

"That's Elise, my daughter. I heard that you have a boy the same age as her."

"Oh, yes. This is Ron. I trust that you will be a good friend to your cousin." The red headed boy who was still angry at his mother, and still got dirt on his nose, nodded. Then Molly turned her face to Elise. "Oh, I see you have your mother's eyes… and her curly hair. I don't really know where those came from."

"But you got our traditional hair colour." Said Lina. Elise smiled, still being hugged by the little girl. She looked down at her cousin.

"Hi. I'm Elise." She said.

"I'm Ginny!" The girl answered and smile, showing a little gap between her teeth that would certainly be fixed by the end of the year.

"Oh, great! So the family grew up in the last few seconds!" One of the twins grinned gently at Elise. "We will certainly have a great time together. I'm Fred, and this is my brother George. Don't try too hard to identify us." Elise smiled back.

"Don't you dare influence your cousin with your awful behaviour, Fred!" Shouted Molly.

"I'm George!"

"No, you are not!"

"Well, Molly, I think we all know that the one that played pranks in this family was me, to begin with." Giggled Lina.

"Anyway, if I get one more owl from Hogwarts telling me that you've blown up a toilet or..."

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet!"

"Great idea, though. Thanks, mum."

"It's not funny! And look after Ron." She shouted.

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up!" Shouted Ron. Lina giggled again.

Elise could tell that her mother had missed that witch. More than that, Elise realized that she, herself, had missed that family that she had never known. When she looked back, smiling at Thomas, she felt her heart sink when she saw his sad gaze. Thomas only had his mother. And there was no hidden family to save him from loneliness. She was the closest thing to a family he had in the wizarding world.

"Come, Thomas!" She said. Then turned to her family again "I would like to introduce my best friend Thomas. He is our neighbour, and will be coming with us to Hogwarts."

Thomas waved timidly, but was soon bombed by Fred and George, the twins, with thousands of questions about muggles. Thomas no longer looked sad or lonely.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" Asked one of the twins. Ron looked excited too.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" Started Fred.

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Elise was shocked. She should have expected to see the famous Harry Potter on that year, since he was just a little bit younger than herself. Ginny got really, really excited at the idea of seeing the boy in the train. Elise looked back, and then looked up, meeting a young boy's bright green eyes. His face told her to not say a word.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please..." Asked Ginny.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning." Fred was really, really excited.

"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern. Elise couldn't help but agree with her. Couldn't they see how much pain that boy must have been through?

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" Said Molly. All of them climbed on the train. They leaned through the windows to say goodbye. Thomas waved goodbye and entered a compartment, leaving Elise to talk to her mother.

"You take care, alright? Follow the rules, do your work, pay attention to the classes and don't get into fights." Lina held Elise's hand.

"Alright, Mum. I'll do it."

"Learn as much as you can and have fun. Send me an owl once you are there.

"I will. I'll write to you every week." Promised the girl.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Shouted Elise when the train started moving. She saw Ginny trying to run along with the train, half crying half smiling. It didn't take more than two minutes for her mother to become invisible in the distance. Her heart tightened in insecurity, but she ignored it and walked through the train to find Thomas sitting in a compartment along with her cousin and a black-haired boy with bright green eyes who she had understood to be Harry Potter. The twins had just left the compartment, heading to the middle of the train.

"Are you really Harry Potter?"

The boy nodded.

"Oh - well, I thought it could be one of Fred and George's jokes. And do you really have..."

Harry pulled back his bangs, showing a thin scar that looked like a lightning.

"Is that where you know who..." Asked Thomas.

"Yes. But I don't remember it."

"Nothing?" Insisted Ron.

"Well, I remember lots of green light, but that's it."

Green light. Elise had dreams with green light sometimes. But she didn't say anything. In fact, she was annoyed at the absence of sensitivity from the two boys.

"Are all of your families wizards?" Harry seemed to find Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

"Er, yes I think so. My mother has a second cousin who is an accountant, but we don't talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already!" Said Harry, looking at Ron and Elise.

"Not really, my father was a muggle… And I was raised as a muggle all my life." Said Elise. Harry seemed to identify with her.

"And I'm muggleborn." Said Thomas.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

Helga beaked her cage, interested on the rat. She could easily have eaten the rat if the cage wasn't closed. Ron told them about how useless the rat, Scabbers, was useless and how his brother, Percy had gotten an owl for becoming prefect.

"They couldn't aff–" Ron's ears got pink and he looked at Elise's owl and Thomas' cat. Elise thought there was nothing wrong with not being able to afford an owl. She really thought Helga had been a very expensive gift. Thomas and his mother struggled to be able to live where they lived. And when she looked at Harry, she could tell he wasn't about to mock Ron either.

Then the boy told them all about the Dursleys and how awful they were, not telling him about his own origins. He even had to wear his spoiled cousin's old clothes. Harry, indeed, looked even thinner in all those oversized clothes.

"And then Hagrid told me. I really didn't know anything about about being a wizard, or my parents or Voldemort."

Ron gasped. Harry had said his name. It was the first time she had heard the name.

"What?" Asked Harry.

"You said his name." Explained Elise. "I had never heard it. My mother never said it."

"Yes. I would have thought… you of all people..." Said Ron.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn... I bet… I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Elise and Thomas had traded their muggle money for galleons and hurried to buy a few sweets to share. Ron muttered that he had brought sandwiches. That made Elise and Thomas exchange looks and buy some extra sweets for Ron. That's when they realized that Harry was far richer than the two of them together, since he decided to simply buy some of everything. He placed all the treats onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?" Commented Ron.

"Starving." Said Harry, as Elise offered Ron a pumpkin pasty.

Ron complained about his sandwiches, which were dry since Molly didn't have much time while caring for all of them. For a split second, Elise felt guilty about having her mother all to herself.

Harry offered them sweets to all of them and they ate while discussing about chocolate frogs, and the cards that came along with card about Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, read

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

The three of them also had to explain to Ron that, in muggle word, pictures didn't move. He was more surprised at that information than Elise, Thomas and Harry had been surprised by seeing that Albus Dumbledore's portrait had disappeared from the card.

As the countryside flew outside the window, lots of things happened. A round faced boy asked them if they had seen his toad and then left.

Ron was about to try a spell to turn Scabbers yellow. That's when a girl with lots of hair and already wearing Hogwarts' robes and asked again if they had seen the toad.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er - all right."

He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you.

She said all this very fast.

Thomas and Elise looked at each other and by looking agreed that the fast-talking girl was really boring and decided to go put their robes on. By the time they went back, there was a mess in the cabin. Scabbers had been thrown on the floor and seemed to be asleep again. Hemione seemed to be very angry at them both, since they apparently had been fighting even before arriving at Hogwarts. Then she left them to put their robes on.

A voice sounded, warning the students that the train would arrive in five minutes. It instructed them to leave their luggage on the train and it would all be taken to Hogwarts separately.

 **A/N: So, let me know what you are thinking! Any critics? Is it well written?**


	7. The Castle

**A/N: Hello again. I missed posting. So… are you enjoying the story?**

 **The Castle**

Elise's stomach felt very funny. Thomas looked at Elise and held her hand, as he usually did when she was nervous. The train slowed down and eventually stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on a tiny, dark platform. Elise bet this one too was invisible to muggles. It was really cold outside and Elise could barely see anything, so she held onto Thomas' robes. For a moment, she wondered if all those letters had been sent from some psychopath who would kill all the children. Then she kicked the thought out of her head by thinking about when she would be able to get Helga back to send a letter to her mother.

Then, a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Elise saw the man that matched Harry's description of Hagrid. An enormous hairy man with a kind look.

"Firs' years! Firs' years follow me! Over here!" Then he looked down at Harry, as Elise could see, and greeted him. "C'mon, follow me… Any more firs' years? Mind yer step now!"

The first years followed Hagrid through a steep, narrow and slippery path. Elise and Thomas kept slipping and stumbling, holding onto each other for balance. Nobody was speaking, probably because everyone was too focused on trying to remain standing and walking.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a see." Hagrid called over and Elise managed to take a look up, getting a few red curls out of her eyes. It was the most amazing sight she had ever seen.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. On the other side of it, there was a mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain, there were windows sparkling on the starred night and illuminating the huge castle's towers. She looked up to see Thomas and, even in the darkness, she could spot the same amazement expression she was wearing.

"No more'n four to a boat." Hagrid called again. Elise looked around, trying to find the boats. There they were, sitting in the water by the shore. Elise pulled Thomas in a boat in which there were sitting with two identical twin girls called Parvarti and Padma. They all heard Hagrid yell "FORWARD!" and then the fleet of little boats departed all at once.

Elise looked at the water. It looked as smooth as glass. Then she looked up at the sky and noticed that she had never seen such a starred sky. She could see constellations and planets and… Bloody hell, she could see the whole universe. And there, in the very center of everything, stood Hogwarts. It looked just as majestic as the sky.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid all of a sudden. They all bend their heads and the boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that covered an opening in the cliff. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor. Thomas, being the taller, clambered out first and then helped Elise and the twins. They took a look around.

"I think we are under the castle." Said Thomas.

"Yes, I think so. Oh, Thomas, I wish my dad could see where we are now. He loved castles."

"Yeah, I remember when he took us to see the Edinburgh castle… And then we had ice cream and watched that play on the Fringe festival."

Oddly, Elise didn't feel sad anymore. She felt like she had the best parents anyone could ask for and, after all, nobody could be happy forever. But, for the first time, she understood that the fact that he had been taken from her didn't change anything. She loved him, he loved her. All those experiences were still there, they were part of her.

The toadless boy, Neville, had his toad given back to him by Hagrid when the giant man was checking the boats for forgotten items. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto the grass around the castle. It was even bigger than they had thought from the distance.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Asked Hagrid as he raised one gigantic fist and knocked on the castle door.

It swung open at once and a tall, black haired witch wearing emerald green robes and a stern expression came to greet them. Hagrid left and she told the first years to step inside. The entrance hall was so big an entire house could easily fit inside.

Then the witch guided them through the hall and into a small chamber near to a doorway through which Elise could hear hundreds of voices. The rest of the school was probably already in there.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She said. "The start-of-term-feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like a family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

Then she explained how all of the houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, all had its own outstanding wizards and witches. She explained the points system and how, by the end of the year the house with most points would be awarded the house cup, a great honor.

"The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we a ready for you."

Elise looked up at Thomas' hair and envied him for a moment. He had it braided on the day before their journey to Hogwarts, so it was perfectly in place. As for her hair, Thomas tried to take leaves out of it, since they tended to get stuck in her curls, but it was too much. Ultimately, he pulled all her hair back on a ponytail.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" She heard Harry asking.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Said Ron.

Elise wasn't too worried, she was used to tests. But Thomas started biting his nails. He hated tests. It always put him through a lot of distress.

"Don't worry." She said. "You will do well."

"That's not what I am worried about. What if we are sorted into different houses? All that thing about studying, sleeping and eating..."

"Oh, Thomas, don't be silly. We were in different classrooms in our old school, remember? It never stopped us." But Elise was just as worried as Thomas. Hogwarts wasn't anything like their old school. Not because of magic, but because they would remain there through the whole year. They wouldn't be able to sleep at each other's house. Maybe they wouldn't even be able to study together. "We are probably staying on the same house anyway."

"How can you tell? We are nothing like each other. If we had just met, we wouldn't be friends at all. I read that the ceremony sorts students into the house most fit to their personality."

"Well… I can't spot many other insecure nerds in the crowd." Elise joked. "Besides, we are family, we will always be together somehow."

"We are not actually family, though." He pointed.

The discussion was completely forgotten once all the students gasped at once when about twenty ghosts streamed through the wall. All pearly-white, slightly transparent, not at all interested on the first years as the talked to each other. They seemed to be arguing. There was one, that looked like a fat little monk, who was saying "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance..."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost. I say… What are you all doing here?"

The ghosts finally seemed to notice the first years. Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Friar. "About to be sorted, I suppose."

Elise, along with a few other students, nodded.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff." Said the Friar. "My old house, you know?"

Than that was the Hufflepuff ghost. Her mother's house ghost.

McGonagall suddenly came back and told the first years to form a line before following her into the Great Hall. Elise was walking ahead of Thomas, who had a protective hand over her shoulders. One could say they were nearly paranoid about each other's security.

But as soon as they walked into the Great Hall, Thomas let go of her. It was amazing. There were thousands and thousands of lit candles floating in midair and somehow there was no wax dropping. The other students were sitting at four long tables on which there were shiny golden plates and goblets. Faces stared at them with curiosity. At the top of the hall, there was also a long table where the teachers were sitting, including Severus and the man with a turban from the Leaky Caldron. Elise looked up at the ceiling and then pulled Thomas' robes and told him to look up. From inside, they could see the glittering stars in the sky, just as starred as it looked outside.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, a History." She heard Hermione whispering to Harry. Thomas looked at Elise with his mouth open, but then closed it again when he heard Hermione saying it. Maybe Thomas would end up in the same house as the girl.

Elise looked behind her and saw the potions master Severus and smiled at him. He didn't smile back, but his eyes glittered in a different way for half a second.

Professor McGonagall placed a four legged stool in front of the first years and, on top of it, placed a pointed wizard's hat. A very old hat. It was all patched and frayed and dirty. If she didn't know better, she would say that hat belonged to the first wizard to ever exist. Was that a joke? Did the test have something to do with theater? However, everyone seemed to have a deep respect for the hat and all the students on the tables were staring at it. Then the hat started singing.

 _"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve and chivalry,_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin,_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folk use any means,_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The entire hall burst into applause as the hat finished it's song. The hat bowed at all the four tables.

So they had to try the hat? Was that it? The hat would understand what went on inside their brains and set them on the right houses? Well, it would be okay, right? She looked at Thomas, who seemed even more worried than before. Well, their brains were definitely nothing alike. While Elise was brave, protective, interactive and understanding, Thomas was smart, intelligent, devoted and shy. In which house could they both fit?

McGonagall stepped forward with a long piece of parchment in hands.

"When I call your name, you will put the hat on and sit on the stool to get sorted." She said. And then proceeded to call the student's names, one by one. "Abbot, Hannah" she called.

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled and nearly fell when she walked to the stool and put the hat on. She had barely sat on the stool when the hat shouted

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit with them. The Ghost of Fat Friar merrily waved at her. Elise looked at people from Hufflepuff. They did look just and loyal.

"Allen, Thomas." Called McGonagall.

Thomas squeezed Elise's hand for one moment and looked at her with his deep black eyes. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but failed miserably. The boy stepped forwards and put the hat on. Even with his voluminous hair, the hat still covered his eyes. The hat stayed quiet for more than a few seconds as Thomas sat down and waited on the stool. Then the hat shouted.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Ravenclaw, the house that valued intelligence. Thomas took a deep look at Elise before turning and walking towards the Ravenclaw table, where everyone clapped and cheered just as much as Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan." Called McGonagall again. The girl was also sorted into Hufflepuff and then scuttled off to Hufflepuff's table. Everyone was cheering again.

"Boyd, Elise." For one moment, Elise's heart sank into her chest. Then she took a long breath and stepped forwards. She put the hat on and it covered her eyes. Then she sat down and looked at the darkness inside the hat. She had the odd feeling of staring into her own mind.

 _"Oh, your friend… I just sorted him into Ravenclaw, didn't I?"_ The hat spoke to Elise and she understood it was all in her mind.

"Yes. Yes you did. And I will miss him very much if you sort me in a different house."

 _"Then you would rather be in a house you don't belong with than leaving a friend… I see, I see."_ Elise felt in her heart that she would be sorted in a different house and then started conceiving plans to manage to see Thomas. But her sense of ethic didn't allow her to even think of breaking rules, or she would put her house-to-be in trouble. _"You would also rather be alone than betray people… let me see. I know where you will fit."_

"Oh, no!" She thought. But there wasn't any more time. The hat already shouted the house where Elise had been sorted.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Elise took the hat off and stared at the Great Hall. She noticed everyone could see her exasperated look, but her eyes went straight to Thomas. He had his mouth open. Elise felt her eyes burn, but managed to swallow her feelings.

She stumbled through the Great Hall until the table at the right where people clapped. Elise managed to fake a smile and sat down between the girl called Susan Bones and an older boy who seemed to feel her sadness.

"Don't be sad that you are in Hufflepuff." He said. "We might not be as famous as the Gryffindors, but we are also the house with less tendency to become dark wizards. Did you know, Newt Scarmander was a Hufflepuff."

"Oh, I know! Hufflepuff was my mother's house." Smiled Elise, wiping a tear off her eye. "It's just that my best friend was just sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Oh. Well, friendship between houses is very encouraged in Hogwarts. And I'm sure you will find very good friends in Hufflepuff. By the way, I'm Cedric Diggory. I'm in third year."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Elise Boyd." They shook hands and she smiled. Perhaps… just perhaps, she could adapt to this new house.

"Hello." Said the girl next to her. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff just before her. "I'm Susan Bones." The girl smiled and her brown eyes looked at her very kindly. Elise introduced herself and the girls engaged in a conversation about the Fat Friar. Both the girls thought the ghost was really funny.

Elise looked at the teacher's table and found Severus talking to the man in a turban. He didn't look back at her this time. She also saw the old man with silver hair and beard that she recognized as Dumbledore. He did look like the kindest man to ever walk on earth.

Then McGonagall called Harry Potter's name. The boy walked at the stool and sat with the hat covering his head and eyes. It took a little longer than to the other children, but then shouted.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Gryffindor's table seemed to be about to explode in cheering and clapping. The twins, Elise's cousins, yelled "We got Potter! We got Potter!" A ghost patted Harry's shoulders.

A few names afterwards, there was Ron. A small part of Elise wished he came to her house. A bigger part of her heart wished him to be sorted into Gryffindor, since it would please her cousin more. But it would be really nice to have family with her in Hufflepuff. Either way, as soon as the hat touched Ron's head, it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

She could see her cousin collapsing on the chair beside Harry's. Elise couldn't help but clap along with the Gryffindor's table.

"What is it?" Asked Susan Bones beside her.

"That's my cousin. He wanted to be in Gryffindor more than anything. All his brothers are Gryffindors." She said.

"Oh, congratulations to him, then!"

"What about you? Any family in Hogwarts?"

"Oh, no. Most of my family was… Well, they opposed to You Know Who." Said Susan.

"I'm sorry." Elise wanted to hide under the table, or simply disappear. She took a look at Ravenclaw's table and crossed eyes with Thomas, who seemed uncomfortable.

After that, another girl was sorted into Slytherin and then McGonagall curled back the scroll and took away the stool and the Sorting Hat. Then, Albus Dumbledore stood up and opened his arms wide.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! "Thank you!"

"Ahm… Cedric?" Elise called the boy beside her. "Is he… a little bit mad, perhaps?"

"I believe everyone who is truly good at what they do is a little bit mad, yes." Cedric laughed. "You will grow to like him."

"I'm sure I will. He looks like someone who enjoys a good joke."

The conversation died for a moment when Elise looked down to see all the food on the plates. It had come out of nowhere. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. Whoever had planned that dinner was sure not very worried about balanced meals. Anyway, she forgot all of that once she started to eat. It was delicious. Perhaps the most delicious meal she had ever had in her life, and it meant a lot since her mother was very good at cooking.

"So, are you a muggleborn?" Susan Bones was very direct.

"No. My mother is a witch. And my father was a muggle… but he never knew my mother was a witch."

"Oh." Susan was sensitive enough to don't ask where did the "was" part come from. "So you lived as a muggle, anyway."

"Yes. It was a huge surprise for my mom when me and Thomas got the letters on the same night."

"The same night? It's usually around our birthdays."

"Well, it did come a little too late for both of us. But we share birthdays anyway." Said Elise.

"Well, my mother is a witch and my father is a muggle too." Said Susan calmly. "But I was raised as witch all my life, since my mother is very proud of our family's participation in the war."

"Oh." Commented Elise. She got a little bit ashamed of telling her that her mother had fled from the war.

"A ginger in Hufflepuff? Oh my, I thought all of them went to Gryffindor!" The Fat Friar laughed merrily. So did Elise.

"I'm their cousin!" She said. "But my mother was in Hufflepuff!"

"Oh, your mother, yes? Let's think… who was the last ginger before you?" The Friar looked across the table to a ginger girl sitting at the other side of the table. "Don't be offended, lady. But our first year here has a very characteristic flaming red hair." The other girl giggled. "Oh, yes! Lina Weasley, I recall! Sweet little girl that was."

"That's my mother!"

"Then I see you got her best traits!" Not that Elise had met too many ghosts, but the Fat Friar was by far the kindest one. "What about you, my dear?" He asked facing the blonde with pigtails. "Who are you?"

But Hannah Abbott never got the chance to answer, because Albus Dumbledore began talking again.

"Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember this as well." Elise couldn't be sure, but she felt like he was directly speaking to Fred and George, the twins.

The headmaster also told them that the caretaker, Mr. Filch, had asked him to remind the students that magic shouldn't be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right-hand is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

"Is that a joke?" Elise asked to Cedric Diggory when only a few people laughed. He shook his head.

Finally, they sang the school song. There were lyrics, but everyone just picked their favorite tunes, so each student finished at a different time. The last ones were the Weasley twins who were singing a slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted them with his wand and clapped the loudest when they finished.

"Ah, music." He wiped his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Hufflepuffs raised from their table and followed their prefect, Gabriel Truman. Elise didn't have time enough to find Thomas in the middle of the crowded hall and simply shouted "GOOD NIGHT, THOMAS!" but she wasn't sure he had listened.

They followed Gabriel down through the staircases and then finally arrived at what seemed to be one floor under the ground and, judging by the smell, it was close to the kitchens. Gabriel made them stop in front of a stack of barrels.

"Alright, now, this is very important. Our common room is the only one in Hogwarts with repelling device. Also, the only one to remain unseen by outsiders. When you come in, you must tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. Do it wrong and the barrels will spill vinegar all over you."

Elise and Susan looked at each other, worried.

"A friend of mine made this mistake once. She smelled vinegar for a week." Said Cedric Diggory.

Truman showed them the correct way to do it and a passageway opened. Elise was one of the last ones to crawl through it and, when she finally got up, she found herself standing in the cosiest room she had ever been. It was round, low-ceilinged, earthy and somehow it felt sunny. Its circular windows had a view to the outside world. There was a lot of burnished copper about the place, and many plants, which either hang from the ceiling or sit on the windowsills. One cactus was actually talking and complaining that his spines ached. Some cacti danced on round shelves.

The overstuffed sofas and chairs were upholstered in yellow and black. Copper lamps castered a warm light over the four Hufflepuff posters on the walls.

"Through the round doors to your dormitories. Girls to the left and boys to the right." Said Gabriel.

Elise barely realized that her trunk was there when she dropped on a bed near a window and fell asleep, not even bothering to change into her pajamas.


End file.
